A typical computer component with moving parts, e.g., a hard disk drive, is sensitive to vibration. For example, as vibration of a hard disk drive increases, read and write off track errors will also increase. With enough vibration damage to the media can happen. A hard disk drive is typically designed by the manufacturer not to exceed a specified latency interval due to self-induced vibration. This can be stated as sequential write throughput. For example, a hard disk drive is typically designed to account for vibration caused by rotation of the platter of the hard disk drive, movement of the read/write head, and the like.
However, when multiple components with moving parts are mounted on a common support structure, e.g., a motherboard or a tray in a server rack, then the vibrational energy from one component can be transmitted to another component. For example, if multiple hard disk drives are mounted on a common support structure, the vibrational energy from one hard disk drive can be transferred to another hard disk drive. As another example, fans are also a common source of vibrational energy. The increased vibration can increase the latency interval during read or write operations of the hard disk drive.
A technique to reduce the transmission of vibrational energy is to mount the components on the support structure using a viscous damping material, e.g., a viscoelastic material. In addition, components with greater resistance to vibration are available for purchase, but at higher cost.